Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Section 1: Approaching Religious Experience: Theoretical Foundations -- Chapter 1: Religious Experience and New Testament Research Chapter 2: Approaching Religious Experience Section 2: Religious Experience and the Creation of Scripture in Luke-Acts and Galatians -- Chapter 3: Experience and Speech at Pentecost Chapter 4: From Experience to Writing: The Inclusion of the Gentiles and the Lukan Doppelwerk Chapter 5. From Experience to Epistle: Paul's Letter to the Galatians Conclusion Bibliography Index.
This volume examines the reasons that prompted the New Testament writers to create the texts which would become the formation of the Christian religion, exploring the possibility that certain religious experiences were understood as revelatory, and consequently inspired the writing of texts which were seen as special from their inception. Mark Wreford uses Luke-Acts and Galatians as test-cases within the New Testament, reflecting both on the stated importance of religious experiences – whether the author's own or others' – to the development of these texts, and the status the texts claim for themselves. Wreford suggests that Luke-Acts offers a helpful example of the relationship between religious experience and the creation of Scripture, as an extensive narrative which reflects on early Christian claims to Spirit-inspired witness and which begins with an explicit authorial statement of purpose. Similarly, in Galatians, Paul's autobiographical account of God's revelation of Christ to him is the foundation of a letter that is intended to play an authoritative role in shaping its addressees' own faith and practice. Wreford argues that religious experiences are presented as the driving force behind the creation of the texts, examining how such religious experience links with notions of scripture and canonicity. He then asserts that both Luke and Paul understood themselves to be creating new scriptural writings on the basis of their relationship to new religious experiences, citing the experience and speech at Pentecost, the inclusion of gentiles in the experience, and Paul's own conversion experience as key elements behind the self-understanding of these New Testament authors.
God has provided a way for all people, not just scholars, to know that the Bible is the Word of God. John Piper has devoted his life to showing us that the glory of God is object of the soul’s happiness. Now, his burden in this book is to demonstrate that this same glory is the ground of the mind’s certainty. God’s peculiar glory shines through his Word. The Spirit of God enlightens the eyes of our hearts. And in one self-authenticating sight, our minds are sure and our hearts are satisfied. Justified certainty and solid joy meet in the peculiar glory of God.
Evolution--or the broader topic of origins--has enormous relevance to how we understand the Christian faith and how we interpret Scripture. Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design presents the current "state of the conversation" about origins among evangelicals representing four key positions: Young Earth Creationism - Ken Ham (Answers in Genesis) Old Earth (Progressive) Creationism - Hugh Ross (Reasons to Believe) Evolutionary Creation - Deborah B. Haarsma (BioLogos) Intelligent Design - Stephen C. Meyer (The Discovery Institute) The contributors offer their best defense of their position addressing questions such as: What is your position on origins - understood broadly to include the physical universe, life, and human beings in particular? What do you take to be the most persuasive arguments in defense of your position? How do you demarcate and correlate evidence about origins from current science and from divine revelation? What hinges on answering these questions correctly? This book allows each contributor to not only present the case for his or her view, but also to critique and respond to the critiques of the other contributors, allowing you to compare their beliefs in an open forum setting to see where they overlap and where they differ.
This book is about creation stories in dialogue, not only between different religious views, but also between current day scientific perspectives. International specialists, like Alan Culpepper, David Christian, John Haught, Randall Zachman, Ellen van Wolde from various disciplines are reflecting on the interface between science and religion relating questions of creation and origin. This multi-disciplinary discussion by some of the leading exponents in this field makes the book unique, not only in its depth of discussion, but also in it wide ranging interdisciplinary discussion. The point of departure of all the contributions is the prestige lecture by Alan Culpepper where he argues for bringing Biblical material into discussion with modern scientific insights relating to creation and origin.
This book brings together lessons from three journeys. The first journey began with my acceptance of Jesus at a young age, together with my growing recognition of the differences between the scriptural record and scientific understanding. It continued with a young man’s adventure, a retreat into nature, and an encounter with war. War and life’s darker side convinced me that even as nature brings awe and opens us to religious experience, we need morality. The second journey began as I inquired into the ministry. When the church transferred the guide they had assigned to me, Bob Wessman became my mentor. Bob was an ordained pastor with a doctorate in theology. For twenty years, we read and discussed theology, including the Catholic ideas that I had discovered while teaching with the Dominican Sisters. Bob is in hospice care as I write this, and my library is full of the books that he gifted to me. Thank you, Bob. I now had many ideas from my first two journeys, but they floated about in my head without an organizing form. The challenge was to find a form that would allow the ideas to come together and speak in harmony. Differences between Scripture and science had troubled me since my youth, and I could not ignore science. It was simply too good at finding truth to ignore. So science would have to help me. Science cannot touch all that religion touches, but science and technology can be in correspondence with theology. Researching and writing this book could explore that relationship. The result was to have remained personal, but then I thought that a reader might find an idea or two useful. A person who is literate in science might see why trusting Jesus is both good and reasonable. This book is the story of the third journey, an odyssey through science and Christian theology.
A literary history of our most influential book of all time, by an Oxford scholar and Anglican priest In our culture, the Bible is monolithic: It is a collection of books that has been unchanged and unchallenged since the earliest days of the Christian church. The idea of the Bible as "Holy Scripture," a non-negotiable authority straight from God, has prevailed in Western society for some time. And while it provides a firm foundation for centuries of Christian teaching, it denies the depth, variety, and richness of this fascinating text. In A History of the Bible, John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. Barton shows how the Bible is indeed an important source of religious insight for Jews and Christians alike, yet argues that it must be read in its historical context--from its beginnings in myth and folklore to its many interpretations throughout the centuries. It is a book full of narratives, laws, proverbs, prophecies, poems, and letters, each with their own character and origin stories. Barton explains how and by whom these disparate pieces were written, how they were canonized (and which ones weren't), and how they were assembled, disseminated, and interpreted around the world--and, importantly, to what effect. Ultimately, A History of the Bible argues that a thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible's literal wording--which is impossible to determine--and focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.
This book is for those who want to be true to the spirit of the Christ and want to use the Bible as a guide to their spiritual growth rather than as a literal instruction manual for evaluating and judging external behavior – especially the behavior of others. Spiritual growth pays little attention to controlling external behavior. Spirituality is always an inside job and is always gentle, kind, understanding and accepting – of others and of self. The fruit of this book is the presentation of biblical facts, which are sewn together in the recognition that the Kingdom of God is available right now for you: Having experiences where others see God in you; Gifting your life with experiences of seeing God in all others; and Experiencing Spirit’s daily guidance as you live your life. Clear spiritual thinking requires an understanding of what the Bible is – and isn’t.
